Pneumatic supply and vent control valve

ABSTRACT

A sliding valve is reciprocably received at one end portion within a socket formed in a valve housing. The sliding valve and valve housing are each provided with a plurality of ports extending therethrough for relative movement into and out of registration for applying pressure to one end of a piston containing cylinder while venting the other end of the cylinder. Control means, connected with the sliding valve, maintains the latter in one of two positions relative to the housing.

United States Patent Hall 1 1 Jan. 7, 1975 1 1 PNEUMATIC SUPPLY AND VENT2,793,900 5/1956 Holzer et al. 251/174 CONTROL VALVE 3,642,020 2/1972Payne 251/282 X [76] Inventor: E iz g' gg gi Spring PrimaryExaminerHenry T. Klinksiek Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert K. Rhea [22]Filed: Dec. 12, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 424,244 [57] ABSTRACT A slidingvalve is reciprocably received at one end 52 us. Cl. l37/625.25, 251/174Portion Within a Socket formed in a valve housing- The [51] Int. Cl.F16k 11/07 sliding Valve and Valve housing are each Provided with 581Field of Search 137/625.25, 625.2, 625.18, a plurality Of Portsextending therethrough for relative 7 55 625.6, 55 25 5 5 movement intoand out of registration for applying 251/174, 252 pressure to one end ofa piston containing cylinder while venting the other end of thecylinder. Control 5 References Cited means, connected with the slidingvalve, maintains the Rotter et al 137/625.68

latter in one of two positions relative to the housing.

5 Claims. 7 nrslwino Figures 8.858.808 SHEET 10F 2 PATENTEU JAN 7 FIGJPATENTED JAN 3, 858,508

- SHEET 2 BF 2 FIGS 34 PNEUMATIC SUPPLY AND VENT CONTROL VALVEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention.

The present invention relates to fluid control valves and moreparticularly to a dual ported sliding valve for supplying pneumaticpressure to one port while simultaneously venting the other port.

Fluid pressure operated cylinders containing a piston are used on somecamping and recreational equipment. The cylinder is operated by a supplypressure applied to one end of the cylinder while venting its oppositeend. The valve of this invention has particular application in operatingsuch cylinders.

2. Description of the Prior Art.

Sliding valves are well known in the art, such as Pat. No. 2,394,487disclosing a dual ported valve having a sliding portion with aperturestherethrough movable into and out of registration with one of the dualports while exhausting the other port.

The valve of this invention is distincitive over this patent byproviding ball valve type connectors contained by the sliding valve forsealing with the supply ports while supplying fluid pressure to one portand venting the other port and by being normally biased toward one ofits two positions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A substantially rectangular valve housing isprovided with a socket open at one of its ends for reciprocablyreceiving one end portion of a sliding valve. The housing is providedwith vents and spaced-apart dual supply ports and the sliding valve isprovided with a passageway and a plurality of vent ports movable intoand out of registration with the housing supply ports by a spring biasedcontrol rod connected with the inwardly disposed end of the slidingvalve and slidable through the BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1is a side elevational view of the valve in one position;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side veiw of the valve shifted to its other position;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view, to a larger scale, takensubstantially along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded cross-sectional view, partially in elevation,illustrating the connectors and seals contained by the valve housing andsliding valve passageway; and,

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along theline 77 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Like characters of referencedesignate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which theyoccur.

In the drawings;

The reference numeral 10 indicates the valve, as a whole, which isrectangular in general configuration and comprising a horizontallydisposed housing 12 and sliding valve 14. The housing is provided withmounting lugs 15 and an opening forming a socket 16 open to its end 17and defining a top, bottom, side walls and one end wall of the housing.The sliding valve 14 is dimensioned to be closely received in slidingrelation within the housing socket 16. The side walls 18 and 19 of thehousing are transversely line drilled, horizontally as viewed in thedrawings, in longitudinal spaced-apart relation to provide housingsupply ports 20-22 and 24-26. The housing ports 22 and 26 threadedlyreceive, respectively, a pair of tubing connectors or fittings 32 and 34connected with a source of air pressure or supply, not shown. Similarlythe housing ports 20 and 24 threadedly receive tubing connector fittings36 and 38 for connection with the respective ends of a pneumaticcylinder containing a piston, not shown. Inwardly of the respectivetubing connector fitting, the housing ports contain a sealing ring 40biased toward the sliding valve by a spring 43 surrounding the inwardend portion 42 of the respective fitting and bearing against the sealingring. The housing top wall is vertically drilled to form a pair of vents44 and 45, open to the atmosphere, cooperatively spaced longitudinally adistance equal to the spacing between the housing ports 20-22 and 24-26.

Intermediate its ends the sliding valve 14 is transversely drilled toform a passageway 46 for movement, by the sliding valve, into and out ofregistration with the ports 20-22 and 24-26.

The sliding valve passageway 46 contains a pair of tadpole-type sealingmembers 47 and 48, each containing a partspherical end portion 50 and atail portion 52 with the tail portion of the seal 47 telescopicallyreceiving the tail portion of the seal 48. A spring 54 surrounds thetelescoped tail portions of the seals 47 and 48 and normally biases themin axially opposite directions thus maintaining their partsphericalsurfaces in sealing contact against the adjacent face of the housingport seals 40 when in registration therewith. The tadpole seals 47 and48 thus provide a fluid or air passageway between the supply pipeconnectors 32-36 and 34-38 when respectively registered therewith, ashereinafter explained.

The sliding valve 14 is also provided with three longitudinallyspaced-apart air vent ports 56, 58 and 60 with the spacing therebetweenequal to the spacing between the axis of the respective pairs of housingports 20-24 and 22-26.

The vent port 58 communicates with the sliding valve passageway whilethe vent ports 56 and 60 are right angular or L-shaped, as viewed inFIG. 7, with the foot portion 62 opening toward the housing side wall 18and alternatingly registering with the ports 20 and 24 in response tolongitudinal movement of the sliding valve. The leg portion 64 of therespective sliding valve vent 56 and 60 alternately registers with thehousing vent ports 44 and 45. The foot portion 62, of the sliding valvevents 56 and 60, contain one of the sealing members 47 and spring 54 forsealing with the sealing member 40 contained by the respective ports 20and 24. The housing wall 18 is extended, as at 65, beyond the plane ofthe end 17 of its wall 19, as at 65, a distance sufficient to overliethe adjacent end opening of the sliding valve vent port 58 to retain thesealing member 47 therein.

A control rod 66 projects through the closed end wall 68 of the housingand is threadedly connected with the sliding valve 14. A collar 70surrounds and is connected by a pin 71 to the control rod 66intermediate its ends spaced from a sleeve 72 surrounding the controlrod and connected with the housing end wall 68, a distance equal to thespacing between the ports 20 and 24. A spring 74 is interposed betweenthe end wall 68 and collar 70 with one end portion of the spring looselyreceived by the sleeve 72.

The end portion of the sliding valve, projecting out of the housing, haslocking means 76 secured thereto comprising a plate 78 secured to thesliding valve by a hinge 80 with the plate provided with opposingknurled surfaces 82 for manually raising and lowering the plate. Thelength of the plate is substantially equal to the spacing between theports 20 and 24.

OPERATION In operation the fittings 32 and 34 are respectively connectedwith a source of air under greater than atmospheric pressure and thefittings 36 and 38 are connected to the respective ends of a doubleacting cylinder.

In the position shown by FIGS. 1 and 2, air pressure is supplied to oneend of the cylinder by the ports 24-26 and through the sliding valvepassageway 46 in the direction of the arrows. The sliding valve ventport 56 is in register with the body port 20 thus venting air from theother end of the cylinder. The sliding valve vent 58 is in register withthe housing vent 45 to release any air leaking past the seals 40 andsealing members 47 or 48. A weep hole 82 is formed in the bottom wall ofthe housing to prevent an air lock within the socket 16. When the actionof the cylinder is to be reversed the control rod 66 is manually movedoutwardly of the valve body moving the sliding valve 14 to the left, asviewed in the drawings, to register the sliding valve passage-way 46with the housing ports 20-22. In this position air is supplied to theother end of the cylinder through the sliding valve passageway. Thesliding valve vent port 60 is now aligned with the housing supply port24 (FIG. 4) to vent air from the end of the cylinder previouslypressurized. The sliding valve is maintained in this position bypivoting the locking means 76 toward the adjacent surface of the slidingvalve so that the free end of the plate 78 abuts the adjacent endsurface l7 of the housing.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alter-ationswithout defeating its practicability, therefore, I do not wish to beconfined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and describedherein.

I claim:

1. A fluid supply and vent valve, comprising:

an elongated housing having a socket therein open at one end of thehousing,

said body having a pair of transverse longitudinally spaced-apart supplyports communicating with the socket and forming aligned supply ports atopposite sides of the housing,

said body having a pair of vent ports communicating with the socket incooperative longitudinally spaced-apart relation with respect to theaxis of the supply ports; a sliding valve reciprocably disposed at oneend portion within the socket for movement between two positions, saidsliding valve having a transverse passageway movable into and out ofregistration with the housing ports,

said sliding valve having three vent ports longitudinally spaced-apart adistance equal to the spacing between said housing supply ports,

whereby two of said sliding valve vent ports communicate with saidhousing supply ports when said sliding valve is in its respectiveoperative posttion;

means normally biasing said sliding valve toward one of said twooperative positions; and,

locking means for maintaining said sliding valve in the other saidoperative position, whereby said sliding valve alternately provides airpressure supply through one said supply port while blocking fluidthrough the other said supply port at one side of the housing andsimultaneously venting fluid from the supply port aligned with theopposite blocked supply port.

2. The valve according to claim 1 and further including:

expandable sealing means slidably contained by the sliding valvepassageway for sealing with the respective port of the aligned housingsupply ports and alternatively providing communication therebetween whensaid sliding valve is disposed in its respective operative positions,said sealing means comprising a pair of tubular seal members each havinga partspherical head end portion and a tail end portion with the tailend portions of the pair telescopically engaged; and,

a resilient member biasing said tubular members toward an expandedtelescoped position.

3. The valve according to claim 2 in which the endmost valve vent portseach have an end portion coaxially aligned alternatively with the axisof the aligned housing supply ports when said sliding valve is in itsrespective operative positions, third and fourth tubular seal memberscoaxially disposed respectively within said one end portion of theendmost sliding valve vents,

said third and fourth tubular seal members each having a head endportion sealingly engaging the respective adjacent housing supply portwhen said sliding valve is in its respective operative position.

4. The valve according to claim 3 in which said sliding valve biasingmeans includes:

a control rod slidably projecting into said housing and connected withthe inwardly disposed end portion of said sliding valve;

a stop secured to said control rod intermediate its ends; and,

a spring interposed between said housing and said stop.

5. The valve according to claim 4 in which said locking means includes:

a lock plate hingedly secured to one end to the end portion of saidsliding valve opposite said control rod for pivoting movement of theother end portion of said lock plate toward and away from said slidingvalve and when pivoted toward said sliding valve abutting an adjacentsurface of said housing.

1. A fluid supply and vent valve, comprising: an elongated housinghaving a socket therein open at one end of the housing, said body havinga pair of transverse longitudinally spacedapart supply portscommunicating with the socket and forming aligned supply ports atopposite sides of the housing, said body having a pair of vent portscommunicating with the socket in cooperative longitudinally spaced-apartrelation with respect to the axis of the supply ports; a sliding valvereciprocably disposed at one end portion within the socket for movementbetween two positions, said sliding valve having a transverse passagewaymovable into and out of registration with the housing ports, saidsliding valve having three vent ports longitudinally spaced-apart adistance equal to the spacing between said housing supply ports, wherebytwo of said sliding valve vent ports communicate with said housingsupply ports when said sliding valve is in its respective operativeposition; means normally biasing said sliding valve toward one of saidtwo operative positions; and, locking means for maintaining said slidingvalve in the other said operative position, whereby said sliding valvealternately provides air pressure supply through one said supply portwhile blocking fluid through the other said supply port at one side ofthe housing and simultaneously venting fluid from the supply portaligned with the opposite blocked supply port.
 2. The valve according toclaim 1 and further including: expandable sealing means slidablycontained by the sliding valve passageway for sealing with therespective port of the aligned housing supply ports and alternativelyproviding communication therebetween when said sliding valve is disposedin its respective operative positions, said sealing means comprising apair of tubular seal members each having a partspherical head endportion and a tail end portion with the tail end portions of the pairtelescopically engaged; and, a resilient member biasing said tubularmembers toward an expanded telescoped position.
 3. The valve accordingto claim 2 in which the endmost valve vent ports each have an endportion coaxially aligned alternatively with the axis of the alignedhousing supply ports when said sliding valve is in its respectiveoperative positions, third and fourth tubular seal members coaxiallydisposed respectively within said one end portion of the endmost slidingvalve vents, said third and fourth tubular seal members each having ahead end portion sealingly engaging the respective adjacent housingsupply port when said sliding valve is in its respective operativeposition.
 4. The valve according to claim 3 in which said sliding valvebiasing means includes: a control rod slidably projecting into saidhousing and connected with the inwardly disposed end portion of saidsliding valve; a stop secured to said control rod intermediate its ends;and, a spring interposed between said housing and said stop.
 5. Thevalve according to claim 4 in which said locking means includes: a lockplate hingedly secured to one end to the end portion of said slidingvalve opposite said control rod for pivoting movement of the other endportion of said lock plate toward and away from said sliding valve andwhen pivoted toward said sliding valve abutting an adjacent surface ofsaid housing.